September 2010 - Posts

Ideal unit tests are easy to roll out, easy to maintain, run fast, and make a difference: without them making changes and troubleshooting are more difficult. Some common examples of unit tests do not grade well against this criteria. For instance, writing Read More...

When we write articles, blog posts, and books, our examples must be simple. On the other hand, when we write automated tests in real life, the most complex modules need automated tests much more than simple ones. Consider, for example, the following trivial Read More...

Unit testing may be extremely useful if we do it right – if . On the other hand, if unit testing is being used inefficiently, it can be a huge waste of time and effort. When we were beginning to unit test our T-SQL more than three years ago, we wrote Read More...

Working in mixed database environments is a very interesting challenge, both for DBAs and developers. If we already have experience with SQL Server, and need to work with Oracle, our SQL Server experience may be an advantage - we already have a good handle Read More...

A good source control system can make us significantly more productive, and more satisfied with our jobs. Git seems to fit the bill very well. The following sources provide more information: A book written by Scott Scacon, titled Pro Git . This books Read More...

Yesterday I delivered a session named "Develop T-SQL defensively" at East Iowa SQL Saturday. Thanks to those who attended, and many thanks to Michelle Ufford, Chris Leonard, Ed Leighton-Dick, and other volunteers, who organized the event. Here are the Read More...

Yesterday I delivered a session named "Developing T-SQL to survive concurrency" at East Iowa SQL Saturday. Thanks to everyone who attended, and thanks to Michelle Ufford, Chris Leonard, Ed Leighton-Dick, and other volunteers, who organized the event. Read More...

I have just attended an excellent presentation on Git, delivered by Scott Chacon , a well-known Git expert. The presentation was excellent: practical recommendations, without marketing, without glossing over problems. I have been using Subversion to store Read More...